Near-Universal Ignorance

Uber-pundit George Will writes for The Washington Post; his most recent column is about the abysmal ignorance displayed by perhaps half of the electorate. In some ways the column is a review of a book entitled Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter by Ilya Somin, a George Mason University law professor.

Somin's point, assuming Will reflects it accurately, is that elected government doesn't particularly reflect the will of an informed electorate. Will cites studies which demonstrate our voters generally are not informed. A Will quote I liked:

Many people, says Somin, acquire political knowledge for the reason people acquire sports knowledge — because it interests them, not because it will alter the outcome of any contest.

Will concludes:

If much of the electorate is unaware of the substance or even existence of policies adopted by the sprawling regulatory state, the policies’ democratic pedigrees are weak.